How SEDA Improves Security and Accessibility for Bridge Protocols
Learn how SEDA can power interoperability protocols, add routes, networks, and tokens.
Last updated
Learn how SEDA can power interoperability protocols, add routes, networks, and tokens.
Last updated
Leading interoperability protocols today typically feature a "default" subset of Relayers to pass messages between networks. These Relayers are typically centralized software run by the bridge protocol as a form of multisig, or by a single third-party entity. Relayers sit as a middleware infrastructure between contracts on the origin and destination chain. The Relayer monitors the chain state and listens for smart contract events from the origin bridge contract. When an event is triggered on the smart contract, the Message within the arbitrary payload is forwarded by the relayer to the target contract on the destination network. In the case of bridge protocols, this arbitrary payload contains the target network, receiving address, token, amount, and sometimes other information.
Centralized relayers hold all of the power in this dynamic and are responsible for forwarding a user's message between networks. If the Relayer acts maliciously, it could forward incorrect messages, potentially leading to funds being sent to an unauthorized address, or worse create an infinite mint of an asset.
Current efforts to enhance security to Relayers involve (in most cases) a subset of co-signers to choose from that would attest to a Relayer's message being valid. In practice, this creates a bottleneck for adding new chain support (need co-signers to support new networks manually), and creates security risks as many protocols opt for a signer's set of 3 or 5 co-signers. Most developers just accept the default option provided by the message protocol.
With the interoperability space growing rapidly and over $250 billion in volume annually, this attack vector is growing every day. To learn more about how SEDA is increasing security and accessibility for interoperability, please check out this section next.
